The Second Banquet
by SnowWhiteQuill
Summary: Five years after the curse is broken, the Zodiac is reunited for a wedding. They will return, some healed, some changed, each with five years worth of stories to tell. But what will they bring back as luggage? Secrets that are dying to reveal themselves.
1. Just a Loose End

**Hey everyone! So this story was the first fan fiction I wrote, and it's been on hiatus for a really, really long time, because I thought it was...well...crap. But because of emotional reasons, I never deleted it. Right now, I'm going to rework the whole thing, but I can't promise you guys any timely updates, seeing as how I'm really busy with school right now.**

**So, as a summary- basically, the Zodiac is back together, and I'm going to write about what has taken place in the five years after the curse has been broken. There are many secrets that have accumulated, and many people have changed because they're all dealing with freedom in a different way. **

**I started with Rin, because I feel like it'd be interesting since she's a character who's already very mysterious and full of secrets. But I'm going to write about every Zodiac member, so it's not like the story's going to be all about her. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. If I did I would not have to wake up at an ungodly hour each day to go to school.**

In her entire life, Rin Sohma had only been truly happy with three people. The first is quite obvious- the boy she loves and the only one she's ever truly loved. He is her eternal soul mate, her other half, and the man she chose to spend her rest of her life with. Though technically, it wasn't even much of a choice; the decision to spend the rest of her life with Haru was instinctual, and did not require a single second thought.

The second person is someone she never thought she would be happy with.

Herself.

Being happy with one's self is a crucial step in finding the kind of happiness that lasts, and it was this recent realization that had erased all of Rin's guilt from her past. Guilt at never being good enough for her parents. Guilt at not being able to protect Haru. Guilt at never being strong enough to protect herself. She was over all of that now.

Yet her newly adopted philosophy was unsuccessful at erasing another tricky little piece of her past. The perfect example of its failure was the third person whom she had been undeniably happy around. _It's nothing_, she told herself day after day. _It's just a loose end, that's all. You just need closure, but closure's not important anyway. Yes, it's just a loose end. Nothing more._ And nothing anyone could say or do would make Rin doubt her conclusion, because Rin Sohma had cut that third person out of the picture a very, very, long time ago.

In the past five years since the curse was broken, Rin had been doing a lot of thinking. At first she was lost. Lost and confused. The very thing that had drained her life of all possible happiness, all possible freedom, had vanished in the air in a single second. The curse had left her as a broken girl, with an unblemished future; one that she had wanted for herself and her beloved, but whose sudden appearance had left her stunned and afraid to make a move. However, slowly, she had begun to take control.

Rin Sohma had begun to feel true happiness.

"Rin? Hey, Rin. You ok?" Rin founds her dark piercing eyes looking into a pair of kind gray ones. Haru put down their luggage and gripped her bony shoulders with his warm hands. Then he began to do that thing he had been doing all day. His grip on her shoulders tightened and he stared into her eyes, as if trying to drill a hole in her head so he could read her thoughts.

"Babe, it's gonna be ok. I mean, once we get outta the airport, we'll see everyone. Not just Akito, but the entire zodiac. If you're still be feeling bad after that, we can leave the house anytime we want. I rented us a hotel room in the city, just in case." Haru gave her a small tentative smile, and though Rin didn't return the gesture, she could not help but feel a tug at her heart. _He's so good to me._

Rin knew that Haru was worrying about her. She always hated it when he did that. It had been only five years, but she'd grown stronger. And even before that, even before the curse was broken and she spent every day determinedly searching for an answer that didn't seem to exist, she had survived. She didn't need him worrying about her. Even more, these days, it always filled her with an overwhelming amount of an emotion she had no choice but to identify as guilt.

Rin had escaped for five years. She'd escaped the closure that was sure to come, she'd escaped the grasps of the third person who had make her happy, by doing something she had always done best- running away. But this time, she had done it with Hatsuharu. Rin never wanted to go to college anyway, and he had given up high school.

They had traveled around the world. Rin had felt the brilliant setting sun burning away deliciously on her skin in the Caribbean, seen the frescos of Renaissance angels in the cathedrals of Rome, heard the chirps and caws of exotic species of birds in the Amazon rain forests, and smelled the sharp aromas of spices in a hustling Indian bazaar.

By the time the wedding invitation arrived in a red envelope (for good luck), she'd nearly forgotten about _**him-**_her third person. But now it was time. _Time for a new beginning. Time to throw the past behind._

It was time to start the Second Banquet.

"I'm fine." Rin spared a slight smile to the man in front of her who loved her so very much. She tilted her head so that silky strands of her ink-black hair fell over her eyes, and doesn't say anything more.

**Yeah, so we never find out who'd getting married, but I'm sure some of you can guess.... Anyway, Rin's "Third Person" will be clear in a few chapters. I'm open to guesses and suggestions with the story. Who do YOU think the third person is and who do you want him to be? **

**Review and keep on reading! **


	2. Immeasurably Happy

Tohru Honda was happy. A hundred percent happy and it was the kind of happiness that was true. Not the feelings of forced smiles and awkward laughs she'd faked after her mother's death and during the final stages of the Zodiac curse to replace the joyous emotions that were not there. Not even the reassurance of day-to-day routines with Kyo (which were peaceful and sweet, but so horribly uneventful after literally years of drama and conflict in her life). No, Tohru's happiness at the moment seemed to feel like pure liquid gold in her throat when she swallowed in anticipation, and resulted in a heightened sense of mind in which the Sohma gardens resembled a storybook Eden and the sun rays felt like real pixie dust sparkling on her bare arms.

Tohru Honda so was happy she could not bear it and had to run with her arms outstretched, forward into the doorway of her room in the Sohma estate, then out to the gardens and the main entrance. All along the way, she thought "Oh, yes! I can finally see everyone again! Yuki-kun, Kisa-chan..." she went on listing the names of every single Zodiac member, but not the name of a certain Cat.

To see Kyo, Tohru did not need to come back to the estate so crucial to the events of her childhood. She had seen Kyo every single second of everyday for the past five years, 1 month, and 3 days. Well…maybe not every single second- between Kyo working in the dojo and her part-time job working as a cashier, they only saw each other in the mornings, for lunch, at dinner, and whatever other few stolen moments they had during each day. But never less, Tohru Honda had never been more content in her entire life.

In only a few days, she was about to marry the boy she loved, who loved her back.

Could a girl's life get any better than that?

But even as her mind answered NO! in a loud echo, Tohru couldn't help but think of the one thing that might ruin her perfect day. Yes, her white wedding dress was perfect and so was Kyo's suit (they had opted for the fairytale Western wedding). And yes, the catering was to be done by the wife of one of Yuki's old high school friends (that same friend was also coincidentally the brother of the ever-so-timid yet wonderfully sweet Machi Kuragi).

Kyo had frowned a bit when Yuki offered to help Tohru (via the phone of course) plan her wedding, but he hadn't dwelled much on it. Not when he wasn't a planner himself and had absolutely no knowledge of wedding cuisine and decorative flower arrangements. Plus, Kyo had long accepted Yuki's lingering presence in Tohru's life. The two could even be considered good acquaintances now (though anyone who knew the pair knew not to go that far).

Even the guests were due to arrive this morning, and Tohru had just been informed (by one of the many servants in the main house that she yet to get used to), that Kagura's car was pulling up to the front gates. Kagura, who had graduated college and had gone to America to complete her master's degree, was now a mature young woman and was now driving Kazuma, Hiro and Kisa (who had all been on a karate retreat) to the Sohma estate. Tohru had only arrived in her hometown the previous night and had not been able to see any of them. She wondered if Kisa had grown since the pictures she had sent by mail a few months ago. She wondered if Momiji had also grown, not in size, but emotionally, and whether he had found a special girl for himself yet. She wondered if Haru's black side was now disappearing due to his new freedom and his happy ending with Rin. She wondered if Shigure and Akito might miss their flight back to Tokyo from the Indian airport.

But mostly, Tohru wondered if Kyo would mind the appearance of the one guest she had invited secretly. She wondered if her fiancé would ever forgive her for the surprise she had planned for him before finally becoming Ms. Tohru Sohma.

Tohru Honda wondered if her perfect wedding would be ruined by no one other than herself.


End file.
